The Gardens Between Reviews
The Gardens Between is a stunningly beautiful look at friendships through the lens of video games, once again showing that video games are an artform.
I personally appreciate that The Gardens Between never came close to overstaying its welcome. Minimalist images between the islands help the player piece together the story, and the game ends with a subtle-yet-powerful scene that made me think about my childhood and the time I spent with friends in the moment.
Time flows inexorable, but this work allows us to play with it, to mold it to our liking, but it always takes us to the end of the narrative. Although the reality is that there is no end to it: memory and friendship, memories and shared experiences move in a circle, like the islands of this work. A wheel that has no beginning or end, in which looking back also implies look ahead. A wheel.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Even if the nostalgia of the objects littered throughout the islands is before your time the emotional resonance of The Gardens Between should work for everyone in some regard. Memories from being younger, simpler times. The ending is bittersweet, but the journey there is every bit rewarding through interesting mechanics and subtle story-telling.
Journey through a world that can only exist in your dreams. A dreamlike world seen through the eyes of two young children reminiscing about their time spent together. Their struggles, their joys, their adventures. This is The Gardens Between.
The Gardens Between feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch, allowing you to play in short bursts or in one go at home or on the go. The game looks great on the TV and on the Nintendo Switch, and the way the game is presented and how you interact with each small island you explore means that there is no slowdown or weird graphical artifact that would get in the way of enjoying this charming and short puzzle adventure. I highly recommend that you download The Gardens Between so that you can dive into its colorful and enticing world.
Full of wonderful dream like miniature island locations and some slightly head scratching puzzles, The Gardens Between is exactly what I wanted from the title. It offers a laid back approach to puzzle games, which doesn't artificially slap on time based goals. Given the time manipulation theme it is almost awkward to say that time can slip away from you when playing, trying to complete just that one more island. Overall, this is a stunning little puzzle title that deserves some love!
Beyond those couple of snags, and really, those snags just remind us designing puzzles is a human effort, The Gardens Between stands out among its physics/puzzle/metaphor-driven peers. It's beautiful to look at and listen to, gratifying to solve (most of the time), and in the the end tells a simple story that's just bittersweet enough to sting your brain into thinking about your life a little.
As an experience, The Gardens Between is a journey that's well worth embarking on. Its puzzles are gratifying, and its world is gorgeous and filled with personality. Its price may be too step for those looking for a meatier experience, and veteran fans of the genre might wish for tougher puzzles, but those hankering for a small game with a big heart will find plenty to love in The Gardens Between.
One other artistically awesome indie game that left an emotional impression on me was Old Man's Journey. Now with the journey of Arina and Frendt, The Gardens Between manages to go for the same areas of emotion. There's nothing seriously gripping here, but it's meant to leave an overall personal feeling, which it does well. The environmental puzzles using objects from each memory builds up a personal idea of what event is actually taking place and ultimately becomes resonating when it is revealed. It's fun getting to those points. The Gardens Between may look simple when giving it a brief glance, but it's one of the most charming, clever and wholesome games of 2018 and it's all about beautifully capturing friendship.
If you crave a great, relaxing, smart, puzzle-solving experience with some storytelling, this is perfect for you.
Childhood is maybe the most important stage of our lives. Still, it's the stage we face with the most tranquility. The simplicity with which The Gardens Between talks about friendships and childhood touched me, making me remember and reflect. Playing this game is like reliving these memories, even if for a short period of time. Despite being far from a perfect game, it's an experience I think everyone should have.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Gardens Between is an amazing game, with an amazing story and style. The puzzles make the game challenging and add to the time you need to complete te game, but are never to cruel.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Knowing that I was walking into an abstract puzzle game, I wasn't quite prepared for what I received. Even at that, I found myself to be pleasantly surprised and challenged by this game. I tend to gobble puzzles for breakfast and some of these islands had me stumped. I love this game and would recommend it to all ages because of its art style, casual nature, and general concept. It does not have any violence, fighting, nor inventory management making it the perfect game for youth and adults to enjoy.
I enjoyed every bits and pieces of The Gardens Between and I admired every garden of it. My only regret is that the game is kind of short.
The only error I can see here is that The Gardens Between ends on a weird note. This is something that could've been expanded upon, but the developers left us guessing. The complaint is rather minor in the grand scheme of it all as the experience is one that shouldn't be missed.
Melbourne studio The Voxel Agents' debut console game proves that they are already masters of the craft. This is a shining example of what indie games can be
While it may seem like nothing more than a Braid clone, The Gardens Between is anything but. Creative and evocative, other than the length, there's little to dislike here.
The Gardens Between is delightful, its soundtrack is beautiful and calming, its art style is pleasing, its characters are charming and expressive, and its story is touching and melancholic, and I found myself truly amazed by the consistently great level design.
As a title that I would consider a bit "under-the-radar" compared to the heavy-hitting games coming this fall, The Gardens Between is a wholly unique experience that you shouldn't let fade away from your memory.